As Allen stood by the counter, still pondering how to approach Lisette, something suddenly occurred to him. Caught up in the shock of seeing both her and Anriette there, he had completely overlooked one important detail: The person who was supposed to be behind the reception desk wasn’t there.
When someone mentioned the Adventurer’s Guild receptionist, the first person who came to Allen’s mind—someone he was personally familiar with—was Nadia.
Maybe it was just her day off. Or maybe she was on a break. But still...
Hm...maybe I can use that.
It wasn’t a bad conversation starter. Of course, there was also the chance that in this world, Nadia didn’t work at the guild at all, but he’d deal with that if it came up. In any case, it gave him a reason to talk. With that decided, there was no need to stand around watching any longer.
“Excuse me, do you have a moment?”
“Yes! Of course, I do! The Adventurer’s Guild welcomes everyone and anyone, you know!”
The reply he got wasn’t quite what he’d expected. It was oddly cheerful and overly energetic. Not bad, per se, but something about it felt out of place in this setting. After all, adventurers were, more often than not, rough types. That went double for the kind of adventurers you’d find in a Frontier town like this. For example, Nadia always remained polite but carried herself in a way that gave no one a chance to take advantage of her. Lisette, on the other hand, had a demeanor that seemed like it might invite trouble.
But just as Allen’s thoughts reached that point, he paused. No, wait.
When he really thought about it, the only receptionist he’d ever dealt with extensively was Nadia. He didn’t know how other receptionists typically behaved. So for all he knew, maybe this was perfectly normal.
“Is something wrong, sir?”
“Ah, sorry. Actually, I heard someone I know works here, but I haven’t seen her around. I was wondering if you might know where she is?”
“Someone you know, huh?”
“Yes. Her name’s Nadia.”
At that, Lisette’s brow faintly furrowed. For a second, Allen wondered if he’d miscalculated, but as it turned out, that concern was premature.
“Nadia, huh? Well, that’s some unlucky timing, I guess.”
“Unlucky timing?”
“Yeah. Nadia is out of town on a little business trip right now.”
“I see.”
So Nadia was still working at the guild, just currently away on assignment. Allen had only meant to use her name as a way to start a conversation, but the information he’d gotten wasn’t bad at all. At least as far as he knew, it was unusual—unheard of, even—for a receptionist from the Frontier town’s guild to be dispatched to another town on business. He recalled once hearing something in passing, that such assignments didn’t happen by chance but were organized deliberately. Which meant that, despite how things might look, this world really was different from the one he knew.
Well, for now, that didn’t necessarily change anything. “Do you happen to know when she’ll be back?”
“Hmm. I’m afraid not, actually. Oh, I don’t mean I can’t tell you or anything; it’s just the truth. I wasn’t told. Maybe they didn’t think I needed to know. I’m still pretty new around here.”
The fact that Nadia wouldn’t be back for a while wasn’t great, but it wasn’t exactly bad either. The bad part was that Allen couldn’t ask her anything directly. But the good part was that there was no risk of his lies being exposed. Most likely, if someone asked Nadia whether she knew Allen, she’d say she didn’t. That saved him from a potentially awkward situation. He had prepared an excuse just in case, but avoiding the need to use it was ideal. It would’ve been nice to gather information from her, but it wasn’t absolutely necessary. All in all, this situation wasn’t too bad.
With that thought, Allen decided to ask about something else that had caught his attention. “New, huh? Are you really that new?”
“Yup, just like I look. So no need to be all formal with me, okay? Actually, when people treat me like that, it just makes me feel small.”
“If you say so, then I’ll drop the formalities. But really, are you?”
“I’m telling you, I am! Wait, hold up, do I seriously come across like that much of a big shot?!”
“No, no, that’s not what I mean...”
But the truth was, she really didn’t look like a rookie. Even though she’d referred to Nadia as her senior, Allen would’ve believed it if someone had told him Lisette had been working here longer.
“Wait...are you saying I look old or something?” she asked.
“No, it’s not like that at all. How should I put it? You’ve got this presence, you know? Like a seasoned pro. Calm and confident... That kind of vibe.”
That quality he sensed in her...maybe it could be called confidence. A quiet, unwavering belief that she could handle whatever came her way... Allen felt it radiating from Lisette.
Judging by her expression, it seemed his words had resonated. “Confident, huh? Yeah, that might be true. I may not look it, but I’ve been through my fair share of hellish situations. Not so different from most folks living in this town, really.”
“I see.”
Was that her way of saying not to ask anything else, or was there really nothing more to it? Allen considered for a moment, then decided not to push the subject for now. He was certainly curious about why Lisette, of all people, was working as a receptionist at a Frontier guild, but it wasn’t something he needed to know right away. Besides, at this point, he’d already gathered the minimum necessary information.